Every sheep has a distinct character.
For each fearful and stupid animal,
there is a curious and affectionate one.
Every flock has its leaders: while the
rest panic at the appearance of humans
and dogs, the leaders work out what you
want them to do, and, if it seems safe,
they do it. Their confidence inspires
the rest.

Horatio Clare

During the
course of a Sunday lunch we happened to look out of the
kitchen window at our young lambs playing happily in the
fields. Glancing at our plates, we suddenly realized
that we were eating the leg of an animal who had until
recently been playing in a field herself. We looked at
each other and said, "Wait a minute, we love these
sheep--they're such gentle creatures. So why are we
eating them?" It was the last time we ever did.

Linda
and Paul McCartney

The normal life
span of a Sheep is 15 years

Shocking fact :

In the UK
20 per cent of lambs die from cold, disease and
starvation.

Characteristics of
sheep

It may surprise you
that sheep are intelligent creatures with good memories.
Did you know that sheep can remember as many as fifty
faces for two years and and specific individuals
for even longer? Researchers tell us that Sheep retain the memory of an absent flock member for years.

A lamb identifies
her mother by her bleat.

Much like human
children lambs are playful; observe lambs frolicking in
the grass on a spring day.

A sheep like your cat
or dog will respond to his or her name.

Sheep teach and
pass on information to other sheep.

Indeed there is
much about sheep which will surprise and amaze you, for more
information click
Sentience in Sheep

In the north of
England you may be surprised to see the number of sheep
grazing on the uplands of the Northumbrian hills, the
Durham and Yorkshire dales, the north York moors and in
the lake district in Cumbria. Sheep are also farmed in
considerable numbers in the uplands of Wales. To a
lesser extent you may also see many sheep farmed in
fields in the lowlands of the midlands and the south
east.

In the spring you might see sheep grazing
contentedly in the warmth of the sun, in fields filled
with buttercups, their lambs by their side following
their ever attentive mothers. It all appears idyllic and
you may be led to think that sheep have suffered less
from the growth of factory farming and are free range.

Indeed in many ways
it may appear as though sheep spend their lives, albeit
shorter than their normal expectancy, in natural
conditions, grazing on natural food with minimal
supplements and in contact with their fellow creatures, not
confined in cages, the ewes rearing their lambs as nature
intended. Compared to factory farmed animals it may seem
as though the sheep has escaped the misery and abuse
meted out to poultry, pigs and cows.

Here is the
reality.

“They were
shaking, trembling…they could smell the blood, their
eyes were absolutely wild. As they went in (to the
killing box) some of them made sounds like crying
babies. Of course they knew what was happening”.

Each year over 4
million sheep die of cold and hunger, the complications
of pregnancy, injury, infestation and illness such as pneumonia
and exposure. Each year one million lambs die of exposure.
Often blamed on foxes, in reality the high losses are the
direct result of neglect and exploitation by farmers
themselves. Often cited as a reason why the cruel sport
of fox hunting should continue the reality of the
situation is that foxes kill only about 1 percent, and
that is mostly the weaker lambs who have already succumbed
to illness. One reason for the high number of deaths
is the lack of shepherds, while the number of sheep have
increased the number of shepherds have not. The
consequence is neglect resulting in a high incidence of foot
rot and serious infestations, fly strike and blow fly due
to dirty, faeces clogged and rain soaked wool round the tails,
a sight all too common here in the north east. A
sheep so infested can be eaten alive by millions of
maggots. In an attempt to prevent fly strike, tail
docking is carried out, a stressful procedure for new
born tiny lambs. A rubber ring is fitted which restricts
the blood flow to the lower part of the tail, which in a few
weeks degenerates and falls off. This unpleasant
mutilation would be quite unnecessary if there where
more shepherds to prevent his occurrence by the
simple procedure of checking sheep for signs of fly
strike and similar infestations and treating the
infestation with a suitable pesticide. Furthermore
if this
mutilation is not carried out correctly it can lead to
serious injury and even death and may cause serious
stress if carried out too early on new born lambs.

I recall when we first came to live in the north east
how driving through Weardale in the sleet and snow we
noticed a sheep all alone just standing there stock still as the
wind blew and the snow fell
relentlessly. When we arrived at our destination in Alston
my husband remarked to the lady in the gift shop how
awful it is for sheep in the exposed terrain in all
weathers, and she remarked simply that they are used to
it. Are they? Do they have a choice? Although sheep are
more suited to the dry, rocky land of hill country as
opposed to wet damp lowland the life of sheep grazed on
hilly terrain is far from ideal. Many sheep are not even
given access to basic shelter under a tree or close to a
wall, many are confined to open treeless hilly country
with no cover of any kind. What choice have they other
than to stand stock still, simply sit or even graze,
seemingly oblivious. Even in fields in lower terrain
life is wretched, confined to a field sheep are not able
to find shelter, most fields do not even have a tree.
As a consequence many sheep die before the farmer is
aware that there is anything wrong. Don't forget that sheep in their natural state
would roam freely and find shelter but confined in a field such is
impossible. All animals by nature seek shelter in the
wild both to protect themselves from the elements and
from predators, taking cover in dens, burrows, forests,
or making nests. In the vast majority of cases there is
no shelter for sheep. In addition often in the hills with grass "mown" short by ceaseless grazing during the summer
months, during the winter there may be little food or even drinking water. Some
farmers do provide food supplements or hay but many do
not, driving or walking through the hills during winter
it is in our experience rare to see that extra feed has
been provided.

Remember though that although hills and fields may
appear more natural than factory farming these
environments are not the wild natural state that we
assume. The land
has been altered in modern times so that few trees exist even in more natural
places such as the uplands of northern Britain.
Also sheep are confined to certain areas and cannot seek
the shelter of the sparse clumps of trees or forest that
remain. For
example in the Yorkshire dales sheep graze on moorland
in upper Swaledale where there is absolutely no shelter,
see photographs below, whilst fenced off is a forest of moderate
size in which they might have sought sheltered in
adverse conditions.

Bleak Moor land at times inclement even
in summer often bitterly cold in winter
with virtually a constant wind . Here
there is no shelter for sheep.

Sheep struggle to graze in severe
weather conditions, where in the winter
time grazing is sparse

There is no shelter for sheep in the
bleak treeless terrain of the of the
Yorkshire Dales. In the summer tourists
including ourselves frequent the
Yorkshire dales, the scenery is
magnificent and even when it is covered
with show on a bright sunny day its
spectacular. However the conditions for
sheep in this windswept environment
with no protection against the bitter
cold is a grim existence.

In Teesdale, sheep struggle to find
grazing in snow covered fields, fenced
off, the shelter of trees in the
background is not accessible to them
during the heavy snow of the winter of
2009.

Recently during a trip to the lake
district in Cumbria while we walked through torrential rain we came across a
Hardwick ewe and her tiny lamb. The ewe was lame and the lamb was bleating
pitifully. When we arrived they stood by the gate which led into a field through
which we intended to walk, their intent was obvious they wanted us to let them
in. As sheep graze freely here in the mountains we where unsure that these two
belonged in this field but at least the field provided a little additional
shelter as there where were a couple of trees. So we let them in but the mother
and lamb became separated and it was quite a time before we could reunite them.
All the time the rain poured relentlessly. As you will see in the video below
this lamb was not very old, she was such a tiny creature clearly distressed by
the misery of the cold and wet. Surely at the very least a warm barn with straw
could be provided for tiny new born lambs, and those sheep who are lame, for
them to seek shelter in such extreme conditions. Though I
consider it not unreasonable that shelter be provided for all sheep and other
farm animals. The quality if this video is not too good I wanted to make a point
concerning the misery of sheep and other farm animals
left exposed to the severity of the weather without
shelter of any kind.

These
videos are short and rather shaky, as seeing animals in such a
condition was extremely upsetting. However despite such both
videos show the awful conditions that sheep have to endure in
the frequent extremes of weather we have here in the UK. Surely
no one seeing these animals can possibly believe that they are
used to such conditions, the little lamb's distress is so
obvious. As we attempted to reunite her with her mother I had to
pick her up, the poor little thing was covered in mud.

Sheep will
seek shelter if there is shelter available to them as
you can see in the photograph a little further down.

When we first came to live in the north
east and saw sheep in distress my husband would assure
me that the farmer checked his flocks daily and tended
to any sheep who are ill or injured. The truth of the
matter, although of course not in every case, is that this
does not happen.

Despite not being
exposed to the severity of the harsher climate of the
uplands, sheep grazed in the lowlands have a
disadvantage. Notwithstanding the unsuitability of damp
lowland for grazing, because they are prone to foot diseases in such
environments, sheep are farmed in the midlands, the
southern counties, such as Sussex and Devon. Here the
lives of these animals is considerably different to
their counterparts in the uplands and in these locations
sheep are more prone to foot rot.

I cannot see why
shelters such as barns cannot be provided for sheep to
seek shelter as is the case on some, albeit few, farms I
have seen in our locality, where sheep leave and enter
of their own accord. People often say that sheep do not
make use of such shelter. In my experience this is
simply not the case. Two neighbours with small holdings
have shelters for their sheep and on cold wet or snowy
days other than to feed you will see the sheep taking
advantage of this protection when weather is
particularly severe.

Sheep seek shelter from the sun on an unusually
hot September day

In any of these
environments the life of a sheep like other domesticated
animals is one of misery, deprivation and pain both
physical and emotional. Sheep like their unfortuante
counterparts in farms all over the world suffer abuse,
are subject to mutilations, neglect, exploitation and
finally slaughter.

In nature sheep
breed once a year, the ewe coming into season in the
autumn and winter. She has a gestation period of
five months which ensures her lambs will be born when
conditions are more conducive for their survival; when
food is more plentiful and the weather is warmer.
Imagine what it must be like for a ewe carrying her
lambs in the bitter cold of bleak winter, particularly
in the harsher climate of the uplands.

In
natural circumstances she will have but one lamb, in
nature two lambs is relatively rare as are twins with
humans. The fact that you more often than not see ewes
with two or even three lambs is the result of genetic
selection, intensive feeding, hormones and other
drugs. Triplets bring with them other problems, a ewe
has only two teats and she cannot therefore feed three
lambs. An adoptive mother must be found, but ewes it
seems more likely than not will reject a lamb who is not
their own. This results in enforced adoptions. One
method is to confine the ewe who has either lost her own
lambs or has given birth to only one in a tight fitting
pen resembling stocks, tethered by her neck where
she is unable to move but with enough room for a lamb of
another ewe to suckle. She may remain thus confined for
three or four days. Some lambs may be bottled fed by
more compassionate farmers. However other methods may be
used such as tube feeding where a tube is forced down
the throat of the unfortunate extra lamb, a severely
traumatic experience as you can well imagine and if this
procedure is carelessly carried out injury and death may
result. Add all that to the distress already present
when the tiny new born lamb is removed from his or her
mother. A similar distress of course occurs for the
mother as her offspring is taken from her if she is
unable to feed a third lamb. Another method is to
deceive a ewe into thinking she has given birth to
another lamb, after a ewe has lost her own lamb or has
had only one lamb. In order to bring this about a
shepherd inserts his hand into the ewes vagina to
manually manipulated it and the cervix for a couple of
minutes, as a consequence she may be persuaded to adopt
the extra lamb fooled into thinking that he or she is
her own, to add to the authenticity the new lamb is
often covered in the skin of her dead
new born.

Over the years farmers have interfered with
this natural breeding cycle. High prices are paid for
Easter lamb and many farmers have changed this cycle so
that lambs are born earlier. With the use of
hormones or by being kept indoors and the control of
daylight hours sheep are brought into early oestrus. In
nature the decline in daylight hours naturally
precipitating oestrus, dimming the light while so
confined brings about early onset of oestrus by about
six weeks. Born too soon, some as early as
December, many do not survive the harsh weather when
these tiny lambs are turned out into the cold. The ewes
often in poor condition themselves do not provide good
quality colostrum and poor stocking conditions of
overcrowding and lack of hygiene in birthingsheds all adds to
the mortality rate.

Ewes are "serviced"
by a ram, usually about 38 ewes to one ram, however
with increased frequency many ewes are subjected to
artificial insemination (AI). This is particularly the
case for sheep farmed in low lands. This is a very
invasive procedure, one of these methods requires
surgery, the ewe is turned upside down while semen is
injected into her womb. A shocking and unnecessary
violation. An even more abhorrent procedure is embryo
transfer which requires that an embryo conceived by a
"high quality value" donor is "flushed" out
and implanted into a lower value recipitant. The semen
is acquired by hand masturbation by the farmer. Fairly
tame in comparison to the shocking method by which semen
is obtained by inserting an electrical probe into the
ram's anus directed to the rams pituitary gland. A button
is pressed which administers an electrical shock
which makes the ram ejaculate, this can be extremely
painful and leave the ram wreathing in agony. Shocking
cruelty is it not, few can imagine such being
allowed in so called animal loving UK. Sadly it all
depends on the animal in question. I fail to understand
the need for such procedures as at this time rams and
ewes are quite capable of reproducing. But as time goes
on if such practices become common,
sheep will not be able to reproduce in the normal
way, as is the case for domesticated cattle as a result
of similar abuse.

As bizarre as it
may seem castration of ram lambs is carried out for a
number of reasons even though most will be killed long
before they arrive at sexual maturity. One reason is to
prevent unwanted unplanned breeding. Another is that
castration is supposed to reduce aggression and a third
is that castration results in quicker growth and better
meat quality. The blood supply to the lambs testicles is
reduced by the use of a tight rubber ring, as a result
they atrophy and drop off within a few weeks. Like the similar tail docking mutilation mentioned
previously, castration particularly may result in
serious injury if not carried out correctly.

As already
mentioned but it is something that needs to be repeated,
ewes are
manipulated hormonally to produce triplets or even in
some instances quadruplets, here ewes are than more
intensely farmed indoors as they would not be able to
cope with so many lambs in harsh weather. This causes
much suffering for the ewe and increases the chance of
complications.

Why you might ask?

The obvious reason
of course is profit. The most profitable produce of ewes
are their lambs to provide meat, unlike the middle
ages when wool was the main stay of the economy, wool is
a significant second and in comparison to meat, negligible. Only 5 to 10 per cent of the total income per
ewe comes from wool. It is more than likely that your
woollen coat or jumper is wool used from slaughtered
sheep mostly lambs, twenty seven percent of all wool
comes from slaughtered sheep.

...there is
absolutely no doubt that they know when death is upon
them. When they believe all is lost, lambs go completely
limp in the hand. Unto us a lamb is given by Horatio Clare

The life of a tiny
lamb is short, in general only about four months unless
he or she is required for breeding. Some are killed
after only 10 weeks.
Ram lambs not required for mating are killed within a
day or two after being born. Ewes are killed from four
to eight years after their breeding days are over. The
meat from older sheep is called mutton and is less
popular than lamb and used for processed foods.

The wool that sheep
produce of course is not as nature intended and here
again man has interfered. Did you know that sheep once
had an outer coat of hair and kemp, with wool making up
a fine undercoat? As a consequence of selective breeding
the amount of wool has been increased and the amount of
hair decreased. Previous to domestication sheep
naturally shed their wool, however after much selective
breeding many sheep no longer retain this natural
ability and need to be shorn, an unpleasant and
stressful procedure which contrary to popular belief
sheep do not enjoy. In many instances sheep are roughly
handled. In Australia shearers are paid at piece work
rates, so much per sheep. Consequently shearing is
carried out in the shortest time possible, many sheep
are roughly handled and sustain cuts and abrasions on
their faces. In addition sheep are often too closely
sheared leaving them susceptible to sun burn. Also it is
becoming increasingly more common to shear sheep in the
winter, the idea being that sheep will eat more to keep
warm and therefore produce more meat. Twice yearly
shearing is supposed to improve wool quality. Winter
sheared sheep then need to be housed in barns, the idea
being that winter shorn sheep, now derived of their
protective wool, will head for barns and
huddle together to keep warm and put on weight. Odd
isn't it how farmers can provide barns when it suits
their need for further exploitation of sheep. However
in reality this results in sheep suffering with cold,
also the accumulations of urine and faeces in such close
confinement cause
disease such as foot rot. A bizarre idea, and utterly
cruel and exploitative treating animals as though
they are little more than commodities regardless of the
adverse effect such treatment has. Of course the above
is a generalisation, not all farmers carry out such
treatments or shear their sheep in winter or
neglect their welfare but there are many that do and there is nothing illegal about
most of the aforementioned practices inflicted upon
sheep.

Ethically however
it is quite another matter. Christians often compare God
and indeed Jesus to a shepherd who protects his flock.
This was how shepherding was seen in those times
as caring for the welfare of the flock, not abusing and
exploiting them with terrible inhume cruelty, cruelty which we
allow to exist simply as a result of our ignorance, as so
many of us it seems are unaware of what happens to sheep and
other creatures.

In addition to
farming the sheep is a much abused animal. For example
sheep shows, which can be exploitative and a difficult
experience for sheep even though as prize winning show
animals they are treated with more care and attention.
Nonetheless such is stressful for sheep often confined
in pens with very little room, poked and prodded and
occasionally rough
handled to make them cooperate. Often kept out in
the heat of the sun for a couple of days, for eight hours
or more, such as in the case of the Masham sheep show, a popular
attraction in the Yorkshire Dales.

Sheep at Mashan sheep show appear well cared for
although they where at times pushed and shoved
about. Certainly their lot in life is more
favourable than that of a farmed sheep and some
of their owners are fond of their sheep.
Nonetheless it is still exploitation. Standing
out in the warmth of the sun for two days
surrounded by noisy crowds, blaring music, being
poked and prodded by children, barked at by
dogs, it is a stressful experience. Do we really
have their right to control an animal's life in
this way? My view is no, most certainly not.

After all these
abuses more misery awaits sheep and lambs as they are
sent to market and finally to the slaughter house.

About 80 percent of
sheep will pass through a sheep market to be
slaughtered, fattened up or transported. Often tiny
lambs no older than a couple of days can be seen
struggling to cope with the harsh conditions
standing on concrete floors for hours terrified. Many
may even have been separated from their mothers. What a
fearful life this must appear to be to these innocent gentle
creatures.

But for the sake of some little mouthful
of flesh we deprive a soul of the sun
and light, and of that proportion of
life and time it had been born into the
world to enjoy.
Plutarch.

In
some parts of the world, in the USA for
example it is becoming increasingly more
common to confine sheep in sheds much in
the same way as cattle, pigs and
poultry. In these conditions sheep have
to spend their days on metal slated
floors which results in lameness, here
they never
see the light of day or feel the warmth
of the sun on their backs.

Feed lots normally associated with
cattle are increasingly being used for
sheep . Although not a method of farming
here in the UK, sheep are kept in
feed lots in some countries, including
Australia and the USA.

Here sheep are crowded in to dusty, arid
and grassless feed lots, whatever grass
there once was has now gone trodden
underfoot. All that remains is dust in
dry weather and a muddy quagmire in wet
weather. There are no trees to shelter
from the heat of the sun or from the
relentless downpour of torrential rain.

Here these poor creatures cannot graze
naturally, instead food they do not
normally consume is brought to them in
order to quickly fatten them up for
slaughter. Due to lack of movement,
restricted by such close confinement
they put on weight more quickly. Feed
lot sheep, as with feed lot cattle, are
reduced to little more than meat
producing machines where in the misery
of overcrowding, with no shelter or
comfort of any kind they await their
fate in the abattoir, or in the case of
Australian feed lots to be transported
over seas. More about live
transportation later.

Sheep are crammed into
feed lots ,their natural
life denied them, here
they await slaughter fed
on unnatural feed. In
Australia sheep are kept
in feed lots awaiting
live transportation over
seas, during such
transportation they will
suffer more abuse in
shocking conditions.

Although feed lots are not used here in
the UK I have often seen sheep confined
in pens with nothing more than mud upon
which to sit and rest, no grass, just
thick mud. Also sheep are let into
fields to graze upon crops of turnips or
Swede as you can see from the photograph
below, although not closely confined as
are their counterparts in feed lots there is
no grass for them and in wet weather
there is no where to stand, sit or
sleep except in thick mud.

Sheep graze on swede in
a field of dirt , there
is no grass for them to
sit or lay down. Their
is no shelter from
either the heat of the
sun or a downpour of
rain. When it does rain,
which it does frequently
here in Cumbria, the
soil quickly becomes
muddy.

The picture below in a series from Animal
Sanctuary, shows you the plight of a
"downed sheep"

What is a downed animal?

Until compiling this webpage I was not
aware of this particular form of
cruelty, and no doubt this is the case
for many people as it is just so utterly
inhumane that you cannot imagine that
the laws of so called civilised
countries allow this to happen. I guess
though if they allow
Mulesing
well...
they will permit any form of neglect and
abuse.

A
downed animal, sometimes called downers,
is a sick animal, it is a termed used by
the meat industry to refer to animals
who cannot even stand on their own
because the poor creatures are so sick,
diseased or disabled. They do
not receive any consideration let alone
veterinarycare,
instead they suffer dreadful abuse,
left alone to die slowly and painfully
as the sheep in the photo below. Each
and every day thousands of animals in
factory farms and stockyards suffer this
shameful neglect

Why
don't they at least humanely put the poor
suffering creature to sleep? The answer
to this question is that there is no
profit in doing so. Instead the sick
animal is dragged off to the slaughter
house.

"Under current law, most downed animals
are still sent to slaughter for human
food—in spite of their tortured
condition. Sadly, even sick and
suffering animals spell profit to many
in the meat and leather industry.
Profit, not humane considerations,
guides industry practice. From the
industry perspective, there is no
financial gain in euthanizing a
suffering animal, but if that animal can
be dragged, pushed or prodded onto into
the slaughterhouse, a profit can be
made. Because of this simple economic
fact, there is little doubt that the
abuse of downed animals is widespread
across the country."

Generally this is a little known form of
animal abuse from which mad cows disease
may have originated. Mad cow disease,
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE),
is thought to have originated from the
remains of diseased sheep, downers,
being fed to cattle. Why? As a cheap
protein supplement the purpose of which
was to fatten cattle up quickly for
slaughter.

Look at this poor sheep left to die,
alone in a Texas stockyard. A sad and
lonely way to die after the misery and
abuse meted out to her and others like
her throughout her short life. See the
complete and shocking series of
photographs of abused sheep,
including sheep who have died during
transportationsheep_NHSS-sheep-007_1
on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

"Animals who died during transit are
thrown on deadpiles like this one behind
Lancaster stockyards in Pennsylvania.
The still living sheep at the far right, Hilda, was
rescued by Farm Sanctuary".

Live exportation is another endurance
test for both sheep and lambs. The EU
allows sheep to be transported without
food or water for periods of 14 hours in
cramped conditions with no room to turn
round or sit down. After an hour's rest
sheep may well have to suffer a further
14 hours of similar treatment.

The
UK Export about 800,000 live sheep
each year for slaughter abroad.
Australia is however the largest exporter of livestock.

Australia transports every year
approximately 6.5 million live sheep to
the middle east, North Africa and south-east Asia in the most appalling
conditions imaginable.

Prior to the initial long transportation
by road or rail sheep are confined to
feed lots for two weeks, fed on dried
pellets to get them used to this
type of food, as this is the only food
they will receive during the long trip
by sea to their destination.

In
extremely confined conditions of three
sheep per square metre they are crammed
into pens on multi decked ships.
Sometimes these decks are enclosed, in
such circumstances the temperature and
humidity rises causing much suffering
for these poor frightened creatures;
many will die from heat stroke,
pneumonia, dehydration and starvation.
Here they stand cramped unable to move
and have no choice other than to stand
or lay in their own excrement which
accumulates alarmingly as you will see
from the photographs on the live
transportation webpage of Animal
Liberation Queensland website
Exporting Live Animals.

These cramped and filthy conditions
often result in sheep becoming
trapped in excrement and under
decomposing carcasses which are
sometimes left to accumulate. Stuck in the vast
accumulation of their own excrement,
sometimes a foot deep with only six
inches of headroom above and unable to
move they may be trampled to death by
other traumatised sheep struggling not
to fall whilst trying to reach what
little food and water is available. The
problem is that live export vessels are
equipped to feed only a portion of the
sheep at one time, this causes
competitiveness as the hungry animals
struggle to get what little food there
is and during feeding the desperate
animals loose their footing and are
crushed to death or suffocated as
already explained.

These pens are not cleaned until the
voyage is over and the sheep have been
unloaded. The average voyage lasts for
about 20 to 35 days, more if things go
wrong and there are delays in offloading. Each
sheep produces 500 grams of manure each
day! Imagine the conditions for these
poor suffering creatures. The
accumulation at the end of the average
voyage is over 1000 tonnes of waste.

But
their suffering is even more shocking
than that, left in their own excrement,
in high temperatures hungry and
dehydrated, the horror is compounded by
disease and the terror of being thrown
overboard alive to drown or be eaten by
sharks, and even more horrific - sick
sheep may be put
alive through a mincer. That's right,
sheep who are sick are thrown down a
long chute whilst
still alive to be ground to death,
shred to pieces in a mincer! There is no
time nor the inclination to even euthanize
them first, here their is no
compassion for these sentient feeling beings.

At sea, sick or injured animals are
often thrown down chutes leading to a
macerator that grinds them up and dumps
their remains into the sea. On a recent
episode of Australia’s 60
Minutes, an experienced rancher
and veteran of many live-export voyages
stated that these chutes can be nine
stories high and that animals are often
alive when they are thrown into the
grinders. He explained, “What they do
is, when they die and they’re out at
sea, they drop them down a big laundry
chute into a mincer at the bottom and it
just smashes them up and squirts them
out the side into the water. … It’s just
like a laundry chute, opening door on
each floor and you just drop them down.
And in quite a lot of cases, the sheep
are still alive. In theory, there is
plenty of time to cut their throats and
kill them first, but they just get put
in the chute alive” (Carleton 2003).

Included in the link above
is further information about the live
transportation of sheep and a video:
Pink Speaks Up For Sheep, the first
section is a report about
mulesing - more on mulesing on this
websiteLiberate
our sheep-
the second describes live export.

In
these appalling conditions 10,000 sheep
die during transportation, about half of the
total deaths is by starvation.

Upon arrival, delays result in further
deaths; about 20 percent die in the
unloading process. These ships often stop
at four or five different ports which
add
extra time on board for the last sheep
by as much as nine days. Some times the
ships remain in port for weeks at a time
(16 weeks in one instance) in cases
where there are disputes, for example
where there are claims that the sheep
are diseased. The air flow is reduced now
the ship is in dock and the increase in
heat and humidity and lack of water
results in further fatalities. The
journey is of long duration which
prolongs the suffering of course and
increases mortality rate. The
length of time from uploading to
downloading is approximately 47 days:
loading about 5 days, the voyage 32 days
and unloading up to 11 days, more if
there are delays, such as in one case
where sheep had to wait 80 days in
temperatures of 100 degrees before being
unloaded.

Here is an instance of delays
resulting in a further increase of
suffering and mortality

"In
2002, 14,500 sheep reportedly died from
heat stress while in transit to the
Middle East. Their carcasses were thrown
overboard. Between August and October of
2003, more than 50,000 sheep suffered
aboard the MV Cormo Express when the
Saudi Arabian government refused to
accept the sheep because too many of
them were believed to be infected with
"scabby mouth," an infectious disease
that results in sores and scabs around
the animals' mouths. After nearly two
months aboard this ship, with very
little food and water, often in
temperatures exceeding 100°F, the
African nation of Eritrea accepted the
sheep for slaughter.

Now having endured the appalling
conditions of their transportation they
are often dragged and rough handled,
thrown into the backs of trucks. Most
are kept for a few days in feed lots.
Here 3 percent of them will die, many
sheep are thereafter slaughtered but
some will remain in feed lots, these
unfortuante animals will face death by
having their throats slit whilst still
conscious for religious sacrifice. In
Australia, Muslims accept prior stunning
as long as the animal is
unblemished however this is not the case
in the middle east. It is far less cruel
of course to cut the throat of an
unconscious animal to reduce pain and
stress. A conscious animal will feel the
pain of the cut and the terror of
bleeding to death.

The
following extract reveals shocking
cruelty to sheep.
In late 2003 more than 50,000 sheep
languished at sea for months aboard the
Cormo Express, an Australian “live
export” ship.

Refused port by at least fifty
countries, the sheep finally landed in
Eritrea.

After the beleaguered sheep touched soil
in the impoverished North African
country, their throats were cut, one by
one. That is, those who were still
alive. Almost six thousand of the
animals had died slowly and agonizingly
beforehand aboard the ship.

They died of starvation, heatstroke,
dehydration, or when their bodies could
no longer take the stress of being
locked in darkness amidst thousands of
pounds of their own excrement, 100-plus
degree heat, and no ventilation.

Many of the websites cited above include action you can
take to stop this dreadful cruelty,
which like any other cruelty to any
creature should not be allowed to take
place or condoned by any civilised
country. Note as you will see in some of
the websites listed above cattle also
are subjected to the misery of live
export.

Slaughter

I do not like eating meat because I have seen lambs and
pigs killed. I saw and felt their pain. They felt the
approaching death. I could not bear it. I cried like a
child. I ran up a hill and could not breathe. I felt
that I was choking. I felt the death of the lamb.

Vaslav
Nijinsky

Most
sheep in one way or another unless they die of natural causes
end their days in the slaughter house or
the equivalent, even ewes who have born
several lambs now exhausted and worn out
from the abuse of artificial
insemination and multiple births are not spared, once
their
reproductive days are over, ewes are
killed.

And
like pigs, cattle and poultry their
arrival at the abattoir means more
fear and pain. Do not be deceived into
thinking that the death of an animal is
painless. And bear in mind that no
matter how awful life is no creature
wishes to die, particularly in such
circumstances.

Often the word humane is used when
referring to the type of death which a
farm animal meets at the slaughter
house. But what exactly does the word
humane mean? The dictionary tells you
that humane means kind, merciful. Here
are a selection of definitions from
on-line dictionaries. Word reference.
com, humane: marked or motivated by concern with
the alleviation of suffering. The
free On-line dictionary, Humane:
Characterized by kindness, mercy, or
compassion.
Merriam Webster 0n-line Dictionary,
Humane: marked by compassion, sympathy, or
consideration for humans or animals.
What
happens to sheep at an abattoir is
anything but humane.

Before being killed an attempt is made
to temporarily render sheep unconscious
with a head-only electrical stun, a pair
of electric tongs is placed on either
side of the animal's head and a current
of electricity is passed through.
Electricity is extremely painful, even a
mild static electric shock can be
painful, can you imagine a current of
electricity right through your head?

VIVA estimate that each year as many as
400 million sheep regain consciousness
before they die. In some circumstances
sheep may be skinned alive.

"The MHS says that the interval between
stunning and knifing can be as high as
70 seconds for sheep. Another study
found that the average interval was 21
seconds. Sheep take an average of 14
seconds to lose brain responsiveness if
both carotid arteries (the major
arteries that supply blood to the head)
are cut. UK law only requires one
carotid artery to be cut and in this
case sheep take an average of 70 seconds
to lose brain responsiveness. Yet an
electric head-only stun only lasts
between 20 and 40 seconds.

Viva! estimates that 4 million may
regain consciousness each year before
they die and we have video footage
showing sheep regaining consciousness as
they bleed to death. If only one carotid
artery is cut, sheep may not be dead
after the required 20 second bleed out
time and they will therefore be skinned
alive.
Researchers at Bristol University found
that after an electric stun, sheep are
not able to feel pain but they are have
periods of being fully aware of their
surroundings i.e. they can still feel
fear and they are conscious whilst
hanging upside down on the killing rail,
bleeding to death. They could not prove
whether the electricity has an immediate
effect and Dr Harold Hillman, Director
of the Unity Laboratory of Applied
Neurobiology, says that when animals are
stunned, they suffer extreme pain. They
are unable to cry out or move because
the massive electric current paralyses
them. His evidence is based on reports
from human torture victims."

The
only option to so called humane
slaughter is no slaughter, there is no
such thing as humane slaughter.

For
more information about cruelty and abuse
of sheep in the farming industry both
here and aboard see
Liberate our sheephere on this
website. Where you will
learn about the horrors of tail docking,
castration and the notoriously cruel
practice of mulsing, which involves
cutting chucks of flesh from a sheep's
hind quarters without anaesthetics,
painkiller or antiseptics and other
abuses of sheep.

This poor little lamb has undergone
Mulesing. This defenceless creature has been
mutilated, her skin and tail have been cut
with shears . No anaesthetic is used.

Sheep are not
breeding meat producing machines but thinking feeling
sentient beings. Such practices are abusive and
traumatic, plain and simply cruel.

Change begins with you

There
are many ways to stop this cruelty, the easiest
and most immediate is to stop eating the
flesh of sheep and lambs, stop wearing
wool or drinking sheep's milk.

For
other actions such as petitions and
campaigns please visit the following
websites.

References and Links :

References and more websites of
interest
where you can take action and get
involved in campaigns and find out how
to become vegetarian or Vegan. Please be
sure to visit the websites included
below
if you have not already done so

First read this heart warming story about a
sheep farmer and his wife who after
visiting a neighbouring farm sanctuary
gave up farming and donated their entire
flock to the sanctuary.

I am not an
animal expert of any kind just your average person who
loves animals, all animals, and feels deeply about the
plight of many of our fellow creatures. Neither am I a
writer, or any other expert. Therefore please keep in
mind that the information included in this website has
been researched to the best of my ability and any
misinformation is quite by accident but of course
possible.